The FAA launched a new AI tool for air traffic three days before the national stopover

For only the third time in U.S. history, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered a nationwide ground shutdown of all flights.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the ground stop at 4:16 p.m. ET. More than 2,000 flights have already been affected and flights to the United States have also been disrupted.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters that today’s nationwide shutdown was caused by a “telecommunications outage,” not a threat to national security.

Is the ground stop connected to the AI?

The day before, ArsTechnica reported on the FAA’s recent deployment of its new $875 million AI tool, the Strategic Airspace, Route, and Trajectory Management (SMART) system. SMART is a cloud-based platform system designed to help air traffic controllers assess and manage the nation’s airspace, the FAA explained in a fact sheet about the system.

“Using AI, SMART analyzes airline schedules, weather, airport capacity, airspace conditions, and operational constraints to predict traffic flows and identify potential conflicts before they arise,” the administration wrote.

Online users pointed out the coincidence almost immediately. Air Space Intelligence (ASI), the American aerospace and defense company behind SMART, denied on social media any link with the ground stop.

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So far, officials have not confirmed any connection between the deployment of the FAA’s SMART tool and the ground stop. SMART has been active in Washington, D.C. airspace since at least September 21, ArsTechnica reported, and the FAA announced a deployment to 22 centers across the country on November 10. According to the administration, SMART successfully helped redirect 180 flights.

Asked whether SMART could have impacted the nation’s air traffic control systems, Mullin said, “You can’t rule anything out at this point.” We’re following this process and we’re going to find out what happened. When we do, we will take appropriate action to ensure this does not happen again. »

ASI released a statement to X refuting claims that its system led to the FAA shutdown. “The current ground shutdown is not based on or the result of the SMART system, any ASI product, or our integration with the FAA and ATC,” the company wrote.

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UPDATE: November 13, 2026, 3:41 p.m. This story has been updated with a quote from Air Space Intelligence (ASI).